Best Music 🎵 of 2025!

Rip_City said:
THEY'RE TOURING SOON OMFG

Dogsbody was one of my top10 from 2023.
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At the time, Dogsbody was my #7 of 2023. Since then I'd say it's definitely in my Top5 for that year. To say that I'm fucking pumped for this new album, especially after hearing this single, is an understatement..

I may consider trying to see them in Chicago 👀

Edit: nevermind, they are in Chicago THIS Saturday, lol.
 
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ranbalam said:
The more I hear the more I like...

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I ordered it in Amazon in January but I got an email saying it won't come until the 16th. I asked if anything could be done as I'd be waiting over 2 week after the release date for that one. They told me there was a problem with billing which makes no sense to me as I paid with gift cards and the other 2 items in my order shipped with no issues.
They said i might have to cancel and reorder it if I still want it as it might not ship otherwise. That's annoying as I spent enough to get free shipping as I don't have prime and I don't want to pay shipping on the album. If I have to cancel it I might end up getting preachers daughter, portrait of my heart or another album instead of this one.
 
February 2025: 60 newly released albums checked out this month (104 newly released albums for the year). Here's a 4x4 of my favorite albums from this month. Atmospheric black metal was the standout genre for me this month. I've also include a Spotify playlist with one song selected from each album (alphabetized by the artist).
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ALBUMS
Marshall Allen – New Dawn
Saor – Amidst the Ruins
Patterson Hood – Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams
Federico Albanese – Blackbirds and the Sun of October
Max Cooper – On Being
Yazz Ahmed – A Paradise In The Hold
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Sunny War – Armageddon In A Summer Dress
George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners – Porter’s Pocket
EPs
Paris Texas – They Left Me With The Sword
Blockhead – It's Only A Midlife Crisis If Your Life Is Mid
Yo La Tengo – Old Joy
 
avecigrec said:
For the past two or three years now, I have been sending a handful of friends a monthly 10 song playlist of odds and ends that caught my ear over the preceding month, and usually got played a lot while I was streaming. There's no set metric for what makes it and what doesn't—sometimes something quirky and whimsical slips in, and sometimes my choices may be a bit predictable ("ooooh, another month with a Moor Mother track or collaboration, how shocking!") The most important thing is I very much enjoy the songs, and I really love putting the playlist together. Some months it's hard to whittle the accumulated tracks down to 10* and others it can be pretty easy.

Anyhow, I figured this year I'd share here for kicks in case any of y'all are interested:



*while there is no set metric in place, often songs that appear in my top 9 for a given month are some of the first to get whittled away from the playlist, which is why, for instance, "****ology 101" by Lambrini Girls didn't make this edition of the playlist, despite being an absolute jam that I definitely played a LOT.
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The newest Squid album is far better than their last one "O Monolith". I think everyone was somewhat let down by having such a strong debut and following it up with a whimper. I've listened to "Cowards" 3 times so far and I'm really liking it. It might have helped because I had the lowest expectations going into it and it has exceeded them. "Cowards" feels much more mature, moodier at points and the lead singers vocals are more subdued and less all over the place. Musically it's a little more structured and less chaotic. It reminds me of the turn BC,NR took with AFUT vs. FTFT.

What does everyone think? (cc: @Rip_City)
 
I've already shared this album in the New Music Friday thread for my weekly shoutout post, in the Metal! thread for my top albums of February, and here in the Best Music of 2025 thread for my favorite albums of February post, but I wanted to put out an actual write up for this album here, too. Becasue I think it's that fucking good 😎

Havukruunu (which translates to Crown of Thorns) is a Finnish 🇫🇮 atmospheric and melodic black/pagan/viking metal band, and I have been a big fan of theirs for a decade now (yes, since their debut LP Havulinnaan dropped in 2015). Their debut, plus their 2nd and 3rd LPs (2017's Kelle surut soi and 2020's Uinuos syömein sota) have all placed very high on my AOTY lists for their respective years. Now five years since their last release, the band has returned with their 4th, and possibly their best, LP, Tavastland.



 Tavastland is 8 tracks and 53 minutes and the track titles, and lyrics, and vocals are all in Finnish. Although I don't speak a lick of Finnish, there are no language barriers here! Music is the universal language, after all! (Or is that mathematics 🤔). Anyway, this album is about a 1200s province called Tavastia that was in southern Finland. In 1237, the Tavastians rose up against the Catholic Church and drove the priests out into the frozen forests to die. Albeit quite dark, this is their history, and this tale adds quite a primeval feel to the album. Not only is there a resounding sense of liberation on this album, but there is also a strong connection with nature on this one.

Instrumentally, this album is an absolute onslaught. The guitar work from Stefan and Henkka is insane - from the high-speed temolo picking, to the soaring solos, to the slower acoustic bits, they do it all. Former bassist Humö returns to the lineup and keeps right up with the guitar work. The bass on this album is clear and sounds fantastic. And Kostajainen is back behind the kit and gives us a career-defining performance of blast beats and amazing fills. And the production is very, very good. It's not too "raw-sounding", nor is it too polished and pristine. It's right in the slot and every instrument sounds fantastic. And, although Havukruunu is, at their core, a black metal band, they incorporate plenty of other styles here as well including folk and 80s heavy metal. Seriously, there are moments on here if I only heard the instrumentation, despite the vocals, I'd think I was deep in some riff-heavy 80s heavy rock/metal album.

Not only does Stefan play guitar and have one of most badass names in metal (Stefan Sorghammer) he is also the vocalist. And his vocals haven't sounded better than on this record. In addition to his harsh, but quite fitting vocals, the band includes several choir arrangements throughout the record that fit in perfectly and give it that epic feel.

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Every track on this album is excellent. Track 4, title track "Tavastland" is my current favorite track on the record, but I could really pick any of them. "Tavastland" begins with a hooting owl and then an absolute epic and catchy onslaught. It then features some of those choral arrangements and ends with the chant of Tavastland! It's a truly epic 5/5 experience. If you have reservations about giving this album a go, start with this track.

Not only is this album a current frontrunner for metal album of the year (currently neck and neck with Saor's Amidst The Ruins), it is also a current frontrunner for overall album of the year. This is a 5/5 album and should be on every metal fan's must hear list this year. Look for the owl with the sword 🤘
 
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wokeupnew said:
The newest Squid album is far better than their last one "O Monolith".
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100% agree. O Monolith was such a big disappointment..
wokeupnew said:
I think everyone was somewhat let down by having such a strong debut and following it up with a whimper.
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Again, completely agree. Bright Green Fields is still their best album and, I would say, still a tier or two above Cowards.
wokeupnew said:
I had the lowest expectations going into it and it has exceeded them.
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Same. That being said, Cowards still left, for me, something to be desired. It didn't scratch that itch that Bright Green Fields did (and still does). For the numbers folks, BGF is a 9/10 album and O M is a 5/10 album. I'd comfortably put Cowards at a 7 to 7.5 album.
 
musicjunkiegreg said:
100% agree. O Monolith was such a big disappointment..

Again, completely agree. Bright Green Fields is still their best album and, I would say, still a tier or two above Cowards.

Same. That being said, Cowards still left, for me, something to be desired. It didn't scratch that itch that Bright Green Fields did (and still does). For the numbers folks, BGF is a 9/10 album and O M is a 5/10 album. I'd comfortably put Cowards at a 7 to 7.5 album.
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I agree with that rating. It might inch upwards towards 8/10 with more revisits. The one thing I noticed too this time around is the singer's "normal" voice actually sounds like Patrick Stickles from Titus Andronicus at times. I don't recall them sounding like that at all in the other albums. It made me do a double take when listening to it.
 
wokeupnew said:
I agree with that rating. It might inch upwards towards 8/10 with more revisits. The one thing I noticed too this time around is the singer's "normal" voice actually sounds like Patrick Stickles from Titus Andronicus at times. I don't recall them sounding like that at all in the other albums. It made me do a double take when listening to it.
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Yeah, I definitely need to give the album a revisit. The two initial listens may not have been enough.
 
wokeupnew said:
The newest Squid album is far better than their last one "O Monolith".

What does everyone think? (cc: @Rip_City)
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It is a sizeable improvement from O Monolith and I no longer feel broken.

Their songwriting is more focused and mature, as you have mentioned. Both "Crispy Skin" and "Well Met (Fingers Through the Fence)" are standout tracks. However, I do think this is to its detriment with most of the middle tracks feeling unsatisfying and unadventurous. But even with the standouts, I struggle viewing these tracks as memorable with no one track taking my breath away and having me want to replay it soon after.

An enjoyable record. Make no mistake, this is NOT a modern experimental post-punk masterpiece like Bright Green Field; something I view among the top10 best albums of the 2020s, maybe even top5.
 
musicjunkiegreg said:
I've already shared this album in the New Music Friday thread for my weekly shoutout post, in the Metal! thread for my top albums of February, and here in the Best Music of 2025 thread for my favorite albums of February post, but I wanted to put out an actual write up for this album here, too. Becasue I think it's that fucking good 😎

Havukruunu (which translates to Crown of Thorns) is a Finnish 🇫🇮 atmospheric and melodic black/pagan/viking metal band, and I have been a big fan of theirs for a decade now (yes, since their debut LP Havulinnaan dropped in 2015). Their debut, plus their 2nd and 3rd LPs (2017's Kelle surut soi and 2020's Uinuos syömein sota) have all placed very high on my AOTY lists for their respective years. Now five years since their last release, the band has returned with their 4th, and possibly their best, LP, Tavastland.



 Tavastland is 8 tracks and 53 minutes and the track titles, and lyrics, and vocals are all in Finnish. Although I don't speak a lick of Finnish, there are no language barriers here! Music is the universal language, after all! (Or is that mathematics 🤔). Anyway, this album is about a 1200s province called Tavastia that was in southern Finland. In 1237, the Tavastians rose up against the Catholic Church and drove the priests out into the frozen forests to die. Albeit quite dark, this is their history, and this tale adds quite a primeval feel to the album. Not only is there a resounding sense of liberation on this album, but there is also a strong connection with nature on this one.

Instrumentally, this album is an absolute onslaught. The guitar work from Stefan and Henkka is insane - from the high-speed temolo picking, to the soaring solos, to the slower acoustic bits, they do it all. Former bassist Humö returns to the lineup and keeps right up with the guitar work. The bass on this album is clear and sounds fantastic. And Kostajainen is back behind the kit and gives us a career-defining performance of blast beats and amazing fills. And the production is very, very good. It's not too "raw-sounding", nor is it too polished and pristine. It's right in the slot and every instrument sounds fantastic. And, although Havukruunu is, at their core, a black metal band, they incorporate plenty of other styles here as well including folk and 80s heavy metal. Seriously, there are moments on here if I only heard the instrumentation, despite the vocals, I'd think I was deep in some riff-heavy 80s heavy rock/metal album.

Not only does Stefan play guitar and have one of most badass names in metal (Stefan Sorghammer) he is also the vocalist. And his vocals haven't sounded better than on this record. In addition to his harsh, but quite fitting vocals, the band includes several choir arrangements throughout the record that fit in perfectly and give it that epic feel.

View attachment 228277

Every track on this album is excellent. Track 4, title track "Tavastland" is my current favorite track on the record, but I could really pick any of them. "Tavastland" begins with a hooting owl and then an absolute epic and catchy onslaught. It then features some of those choral arrangements and ends with the chant of Tavastland! It's a truly epic 5/5 experience. If you have reservations about giving this album a go, start with this track.

Not only is this album a current frontrunner for metal album of the year (currently neck and neck with Saor's Amidst The Ruins), it is also a current frontrunner for overall album of the year. This is a 5/5 album and should be on every metal fan's must hear list this year. Look for the owl with the sword 🤘
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Finally got around to this one and it's great. Thanks for the recommendation. Saor is definitely ahead of this one by quite a bit for me, but I enjoyed this immensely, nevertheless. "Unissakävijä" was my favourite track on first listen.
 
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